To Defy A Curse
by Forever-Furuba
Summary: Kyo finds Yuki being attacked in a dark alley, and saves him. Yuki falls into a coma. Will anyone believe Kyo didn’t do it? Waiting for Yuki to recover, Hatori reveals a secret about Kyo and Yuki’s past. Other secrets are revealed, too. Minor swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**To Defy A Curse**

Kyo finds Yuki being attacked in a dark alley, and saves him. But when Yuki falls into a coma, will anyone believe Kyo didn't do it? While waiting for Yuki to recover, Hatori reveals a secret about Kyo and Yuki's past … Rated M for a reason, people. Hurt-Comfort, Angst, Family Issues, Family Bonding, Friendshipping.

**SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER**

Takes place after Kureno told Tohru about Akito being a woman, but so far, Kureno is the only Sohma whose curse has broken.

**END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER – END OF SPOILER**

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with TokyoPop or Fruits Basket, and no profit is being made from this story.

* * *

Kyo Sohma trudged through the night streets, heading back to Shigure's place from Shishou's dojo. It had been a good day, and he found himself humming absentmindedly. As soon as he realized it, he stopped – and heard something that instantly set him on edge.

Years of martial arts training and fights with Yuki and Haru left him familiar with the sound of fists hitting flesh. It was coming from a nearby alley. On instinct or out of curiosity, (he was the cat, after all,) he began inching silently towards the dark gap between buildings to investigate.

Something – bile, his heart, a gasp – caught in his throat and choked out any sound he might've made.

Four guys were beating up a fifth, who was curled in a ball and whimpering, trying to protect his head and ribs, and failing badly. Kyo recognized the victim's purplish-grey hair.

"Hey," he growled, stepping into the alley and drawing the thugs' attention. "Get away from him."

"What's it to you?" one of them sneered. Kyo sneered back.

"No one beats up my cousin but me."

Yuki, shaking badly, raised his head a little.

"K – Kyo?" he rasped. There was a pleading tone in what was left of his voice the cat didn't think he'd ever heard before. The rat started coughing … blood spilled out of his mouth. _Please just be a bitten tongue_, Kyo found himself praying, though he was sure it was much worse.

The thugs rushed him. Kyo brought down the first with a sucker-punch to the stomach, the next with a roundhouse kick in the groin, and the other two by grabbing a shoulder each and slamming their heads into a brick wall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuki transform.

_**Shit**_.

He stepped over and around the four attackers, getting between them and the whimpering rodent. In a swift movement, he pulled off his beads and stuffed them into a pocket of his jeans.

The transformation was slower and more painful than he remembered it being, as though the cat's true form was reluctant to show itself. _Probably because I'm helping the rat_. When it was done – when he was the monster again – he roared. It was actually more of a long, low, growl, but it still sent the four guys scrambling to their feet and running, yelling in panic and glancing over their shoulders in case he was giving chase.

Now that the 'fight', such as it was, was over, Kyo wasn't really sure what to do. He bent over the half-conscious rat and mulled over his options. He couldn't get the beads on around his paw without damaging them, so he was stuck a weird mutant creature until Tohru hugged him or he changed back to human on his own. Yuki was a rat, and although he was badly hurt, Kyo could hardly take his cousin to a hospital like this. He wasn't about to take him to the main estate, either, and he was a lot closer to Shigure's house than the dojo …

Shigure. He'd said he was having the Hatori and Ayame over for drinks tonight; the family doctor and Yuki's big brother.

"Hang in there, Yuki," he managed. "You're gonna be fine. I'm getting you home."

He leaned down and carefully, gently as he could, picked up the rat in his jaws. They seemed oddly suited for the task of carrying a small creature – probably a cat thing. Hoping he didn't jostle his passenger, Kyo set out at a run for the woods.

* * *

"And so," Ayame concluded drunkenly, "Mine and I would be most pleased, Honda-san, if you would come work in the shop with us."

"Ignore him," Hatori advised the flustered girl. "He's out of it – by this stage he doesn't even know what he's saying."

"I don't know … he makes a good argument …" contributed Shigure, imagining Tohru in a maid's outfit.

"Where are Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked, looking at the sliding door and trying to control her blush. "It's getting late."

"Don't worry about them. They're big boys, they can handle staying up past their bedtime. Besides, tomorrow's Saturday." Shigure emphasized this conclusion by raising his glass of sake in a toast.

"Perhaps they snuck off to the red light district," offered Ayame.

"Do we even have a red light district around here?"

"It does a brother proud …"

"Seriously, do we?"

"… Little Yun-Yun and Kyon-Kyon, all grown up." Ayame pretended to wipe away a tear – or maybe he really was crying. It could be hard to tell with him.

"_Ignore _them," Hatori insisted to Tohru, who was trying very hard to follow his advice.

There was a lull in conversation, and Tohru thought she heard an odd rustling outside, before remembering the house was in the woods and it was probably just the trees.

"I hope they aren't fighting again," she said quietly.

"Honda-san, they are rat and cat … fighting is what they _do_," pointed out Shigure, making the motions of another toast.

Tohru watched the door, biting her lip worriedly.

* * *

Kyo put Yuki down on the porch, near the door but not near enough to be trampled when someone came out.

"HATORI!" he shouted.

The door slid open almost instantly, and Hatori and Tohru both came out.

"Kyo-kun! What's the matter?" asked Tohru, wide-eyed and frightened. Kyo froze.

_They'll think __**I**__ did this …_

He nudged Yuki, very carefully, and waited until he was sure they saw the rat before turning to run.

"YUKI!" Tohru screamed, falling to her knees and reaching to pick him up. Hatori stopped her.

"We don't know how badly hurt he is. We need to move him very carefully." Never before had the dragon been so grateful for his ability to hold his liquor. "Go back inside and get a thin sheet of cardboard – we can use that as a stretcher. I'll stay with him."

Tohru stood, nodded, and rushed off to find some cardboard.

"What's happened?" asked Shigure as Tohru ran by frantically. She didn't answer, but instead dug into the recycling pile and raised an old unfolded cereal box over her head triumphantly, then ran back outside.

"This should do." Hatori nodded in approval. "Now he needs to be slid onto the stretcher without jostling anything." The Sohma family doctor eased the cardboard under the rat's unconscious form. "Let's get him inside."

The girl followed him back in timidly, and asked in a very small voice, "Will he be okay?"

" … I don't know," Hatori admitted. "If he's weak enough to have transformed … It doesn't look good."

Yuki didn't stir as he was carried to his room and the cardboard was rested on his bed. If Hatori had dared to risk moving the rat again, he might have shifted him to the actual sheets, but as it was, health and safety took priority over comfort.

"Tohru." She had followed him all the way to Yuki's room, and now snapped to attention from her position in the doorway. "Run downstairs and get my medical bag." _It's lucky I brought it along with me_. "Then go back downstairs and tell Shigure and Ayame that Yuki's hurt, but _do not_ let them come up here – they'd only get in the way. _You_ can come back up, I might need you to get more things for me."

She nodded. In minutes he had his kit and she was downstairs again. _I hope she can control those two_._ It's really not fair of me to ask this much of her …_

It actually wasn't as hard as Hatori feared. Tohru didn't say how badly hurt Yuki was, since she didn't know, and the two drunks seemed to take as a given that if Hatori wanted or needed them up there he would've told Tohru to fetch them, or yelled for them himself.

"Haa-san's a good doctor. He'll take good care of otouto-kun."

They also seemed to be assuming it was Yuki who'd called for help, since neither one asked about Kyo.

* * *

Kazuma was getting ready to go to sleep when the smell of rotting meat assaulted him, making him sit up in bed. Kyo had left over an hour ago – had something happened?

"Shishou … " he heard his foster son whimper. Half-asleep and hyper-alert at the same time, he tore through the paper door to get to the monstrous animal's side.

"What happened, Kyo?" he asked quietly, kneeling beside him.

"Yuki … he … I swear, Shishou, it wasn't me …" The boy began to sob. Kazuma hugged the warped cat around the neck and ran a gentle hand down his back until the child calmed down.

"What happened, Kyo?" he repeated, even more softly.

"Yuki was attacked. I heard something in an alley and I went to see and these guys were beating him up – he was coughing _blood_, Shishou – and then I used my true form to scare them off and he transformed, too, so I took him to Shigure's because Hatori's there tonight – but …" Kyo bowed his head. "… but … I couldn't face them. After I made sure they found Yuki … I had to leave. I know they'll think I did that to him …" The cat began to cry again. "… But I swear, Shishou, I … I may have been mad at Yuki a lot, before … but … I _never_ _**really**_ wanted him _dead_."

Somewhere in the retelling Kyo had turned back to human. He pulled the beads out of his pocket and fumbled to get them back on; Kazuma took them from his now-clumsy grip and slid them onto the teenager's wrist.

"I'm proud of you."

"Wh – why?" Kyo's red eyes shone with surprise at this unexpected declaration.

"You went against the cat's dislike of the rat to keep Yuki safe." Kazuma ruffled Kyo's orange hair and hugged him again. "Now come inside. You need some sleep."

* * *

**Notes**:

Updates will be sporadic.

My understanding of Japanese honorifics is limited to imitating how people speak in the books. Please correct any mistakes.

We'll find out in a later chapter how Yuki came to be attacked, and explore what prompted Kyo to save him.

Kyo went back to the dojo because he figured his Shishou would be most likely to be hear him out. He didn't take Yuki there from the beginning because he knew Yuki needed medical attention and figured Hatori would know what to do more so than anyone else.

The others in the Zodiac will appear in later chapters, including Akito. Everyone except Shishou, Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru has little to no doubt it was Kyo who attacked Yuki. Tohru only doubts it because of how much she cares for Kyo.

Published July 29, 2008


	2. Chapter 2

It was dawn.

Hatori spent a sleepless night tending the rat's injuries. Near as he could tell, Yuki had been pummelled; punched and kicked and stomped; brutally hit by something long and heavy like a baseball bat, or possibly a lead bar or pipe; the smallest injuries were the cuts, from either a knife or a broken bottle. Luckily, no glass shards were found anywhere on Yuki's body, so it probably was a knife.

At least one rib was cracked, there was minor swelling around his spinal cord, and his throat appeared to have been slashed and stepped on. By a little after midnight, Yuki had stabilized enough to have turned back to human, revealing lesser but still troubling cuts and bruises that had been hidden by his fur. His face and torso were mottled with blue, black, and purple, and what wasn't dark was yellowish green where the bruises had spread. His throat bore a strange pattern of bruises easily identified as a shoe-print.

All in all, things did not look good. That he wasn't a small rodent anymore was reassuring, but it was a hollow comfort.

Hatori gently covered the boy with a thin sheet, in case he got cold, and went downstairs.

Shigure and Ayame had apparently stayed up waiting for news, and fallen asleep in their seats. The two men were slumped over the table, drooling (Shigure) and mumbling (Ayame). Hatori woke them with some difficulty, so they could head for a more comfortable place to rest, then went back upstairs.

Tohru had been sent to bed, ordered to get some rest so she _could_ be helpful if anything happened, a little after Yuki had stabilized. She appeared to have simply collapsed onto her bed, without even changing into nightclothes, and had probably gone out like a light. Very reluctantly, Hatori shook her awake so she could keep an eye on Yuki and the doctor could get a bit of sleep.

Despite his best efforts, the young man was still unconscious. He was probably going into a coma, but there was nothing Hatori could do about it … and with the Zodiac curse, they didn't dare take Yuki to a regular hospital.

"Poor kid," Hatori muttered, rubbing his eyes in a fruitless effort to smooth out the dark bags under them. Like Tohru, he didn't bother undressing – he had nothing to change into anyway – before giving in to exhaustion.

* * *

At about 10 in the morning, Shigure woke up and looked in on everyone.

"Shigure-san!" exclaimed Tohru in surprise. The writer flinched a little from a minor hangover and the girl began babbling apologies until he said quietly, "Please stop – the sound makes it worse." Her mouth snapped shut like a trap.

She had been reading; not one of his novels, but an old cookbook she had dug up from somewhere. She flipped to the blank page between the index and the back cover and wrote on it using a pencil from Yuki's beside table, presumably left by Hatori.

_Yuki is fine, but hasn't woken up yet_._ Hatori went to bed_._ Have you seen Kyo?_

Shigure shook his head and whispered, "I'll go look."

When he couldn't find Kyo anywhere, he tried the phone.

_Rrrring, rrrring, rrri –_

"Sohma Kazuma."

"It's Shigure." His hangover was almost completely gone from time, exercise, and a generous mug of very strong coffee. "Listen, something happened last night … Yuki's pretty badly hurt and Kyo's missing."

"Is Yuki alright?" The martial artist's voice was tight and anxious.

"Tori-san said he'd be fine eventually … he's asleep right now. Listen, if Kyo comes by, find out what happened and tell him we're – well, Honda-san and I – we're worried about him."

"I'll pass that along." _Click_.

* * *

"Will Yuki be okay?" asked Kyo as his teacher hung up. His voice, like it had been last night, was small and worried.

"Hatori thinks he will be, in time."

"Good." Kyo hadn't expected to be more than slightly relieved, but it was an almost tangible sensation – something warm and soft and intoxicating in the air around him, which he took in whenever he breathed.

_He'll be okay … But why … why am I so happy about that?_

_So I can beat him myself_? another inner voice suggested.

Kyo's jaw clenched involuntarily.

"You should call them later," mentioned Kazuma. "Shigure-san and Honda-san are concerned for you."

"I … I can't, yet." Kyo hung his head. "I'm not ready to face them."

"I understand." _But Kyo, you'll have to eventually_._ You can't let them think you would do this_. Kazuma was tempted to ruffle the teenager's hair again, but decided against it. "Kyo … have you ever heard it said that when you save someone's life, they become your responsibility? … You can't just hide or run away from this. At least not until Yuki recovers."

The cat looked up sharply.

"I'm not a coward, Shishou. I'm not running anywhere."

* * *

_Where am I?_

_Why is it so dark? … I can't open my eyes._

"It's alright, Yuki … "

_Hatori? What … what's happening? Why can't I move?_

" … You'll be fine. I'm not sure how long you'll be unconscious, but you should recover."

"Awaken! Speak to me, Yuki! What happened to you?"

_Oh, great … __**Ayame**__._

"Please recover quickly! None of us could bear it if you died – "

There was a thumping noise that reminded Yuki of a mild body-check – probably the dragon restraining the snake.

"AYAA! _Don't_ touch him – you'll aggravate his injuries."

" … I'm sorry. You know I would never deliberately try to slow my beloved little brother's recovery!"

"Why are you even talking to him?"

_Wha … Shigure? Who else is here? Where is 'here'?_

"I mean, he's in a coma. Can he hear us?"

"He's not in a full coma, he's just on the borderline. And we won't know if he can hear us until he wakes up. But, in most cases, hearing a human voice seems to help to keep the patient's mind together."

_Who just grabbed my hand? Nii-san, if this is you being dramatic again …_

"I just can't believe it …"

_Tohru?_

"I mean, I knew Kyo wanted to beat Yuki, but … I didn't think he'd go this far."

_He didn't. Hasn't he told anyone?_

_… Guess that stupid cat wanted credit for finally bringing me down. Idiot._

_Please don't cry, Tohru_ _… I'm okay. Sort of._

"Aah!"

"Honda-san, are you alright?" asked Hatori's disembodied voice.

"I – I'm fine … Yuki squeezed my hand. It just surprised me, is all."

"That's a good sign … he's responding. He may not be able to hear us …"

_I can._

" … but he can feel your hand in his. That's very good."

"Even unconscious, my little brother acts the charming prince!"

"He may not know it's Honda-san. He could just be responding to contact."

"Hatori! Don't spoil the romantic moment!"

_**Nii-san** … I wish I could snarl at him. Or hit him. But I'd settle for snarling if it meant I could move again._

"In any case, Honda-san, you stay with him. I'm going to make some tea – hopefully his reflexes will let him swallow." Soft footsteps left the room.

_Great. Hatori's leaving me alone with Ayame and Shigure. Tohru, don't you dare leave, too …_ Yuki squeezed her hand again. He could move his fingers that much, at least …

" … So, do we tell anyone about this?" Ayame wondered.

"We'll have to tell everyone at his school that he's ill or something … Tohru, would you be a dear and tell your classmates that? Be sure to tell them it's not contagious, though."

"Oh! O– of course. But I hope he wakes up quickly … if he misses too much school he might not graduate." The girl gently stroked the back of Yuki's hand with her thumb.

_School …That's going to be difficult. I'll have to wake up soon or I'll have a lot of catching up to do …_

"But, as for the family," Shigure continued, "I suppose we'll have to tell everyone on the 'inside'."

"Will … will Kyo be punished?" Tohru's voice was timid and fearful. There was a long silence.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what will happen," Shigure admitted. "The cat's never beaten the rat before."

_And he **still** hasn't_.

"Not to mention I'm still not sure where Kyo is; Kazuma didn't know either."

Tohru's grip on Yuki's hand became almost painful.

* * *

**Note**: This will not be updated for at least a week or two, because I won't have access to a computer for that time.Tell me what you think of what's here so far.

Published July 31, 2008


	3. Chapter 3

Kyo was disoriented when he woke up in his old room at Shishou's. It took him a few blurry minutes to remember why he was there.

Yuki had been hurt; he remembered that much right from the start. And … he had gotten the rat to Hatori … and then he … he'd gone to Shishou. He hadn't been able to get to sleep until Shigure had called, looking for him, and his mentor had checked how Yuki was doing. After that, Shishou had ordered him to take a nap, and he'd barely gotten to his room before he crashed. It was late evening now.

And Yuki's clothes were probably still in the alley.

Of all the random things that could occur to him, he thought about _that_? Maybe he ought to have Hatori look him over once he dared to face the other Sohmas. Clearly _something_ was affecting his mind. He kept thinking of that rat … that damn rat, he for some reason had to remind himself … without his usual anger and resentment.

Which wasn't all that bad, and would probably help him keep his temper, but it was weird. Next thing you knew he could be flirting with Kagura!

Kyo did a rolling leap onto his feet and, not bothering with a shirt, jogged out to the yard to do some exercises and hopefully get these terrifying thoughts out of his head.

The trouble with most of his exercises, he decided after half a frustrating hour, was that thanks to all his training, his body went into autopilot and his mind wandered freely anyway. And he couldn't stop worrying about that stupid, spiteful, self-important, godforsaken – _No wait, that one's me_ – irredeemably useless rat!

But he was worried, and Kyo wasn't the type to pace or wring his hands; he was a man of _action_.

The 'action', in this case, was to go to the alley and retrieve Yuki's things – which were, surprisingly, still there. His next act was to brainlessly risk his life by going to Hatsuharu's house.

It took five minutes for the ox to find his way to the door – _You'd think he'd at least know his way around his own house_ – and he blinked at Kyo in confusion. _Good, he hasn't gone Black just at the sight of me._

"Hey, Haru-kun."

"Aren't you cold without a shirt on?"

Kyo blushed, realizing he had just skulked over a good third of the town in just his pants.

"There's kind of a long story there."

"Do you want to come in?"

"That's probably not a good idea. Listen, some stuff's happened and … just come with me."

"What's going on?"

"You're going to go Black when I tell you," Kyo warned. "C'mon, I'll explain on the way."

The ox's eyes narrowed at his cousin, but he grabbed a coat and followed Kyo. After about five minutes he apparently got sick of walking in silence.

"Where are we going? The dojo or Sensei's house?"

"Shigure's."

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong before or after we get there?"

Kyo sighed. "Last night, I was walking back from Shishou's place and I heard a fight in an alley. It was four on one." He took a deep breath and let the next part out in a rush. "Near as I can tell, Yuki got jumped."

"_What?"_

And suddenly the cat was pinned to a wall by his throat.

"He's okay – I think – I used my – other form to – scare the guys – off – Got him – to – Hatori – Shishou said – this morning – he's okay."

"If you're lying … " Haru growled, briefly tightening his grip. He released his long-time sparring partner and Kyo greedily sucked in oxygen. Then Haru roundhouse kicked him in the stomach.

Kyo stumbled back, dropping the bundle of Yuki's things he'd still been carrying. He'd been expecting Haru to snap, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He managed to get into a defensive stance in time to dodge the next punch.

"You BASTARD!" Hatsuharu screamed. "You let Yuki get hurt! You're the fucking _cat_, you're supposed to be the _only one_ who fights him!"

The orange-haired teen jumped aside and forward as Haru lunged, using their collective momentum to sink a fist deep into the cow's stomach.

They both wheeled around to face each other again, gasping for air. Kyo's throat burned and Haru's stomach probably hurt – _it'd better, after that punch_ – but neither of them was going to let a little thing like breathlessness hold him back. Haru's face said he was on a mission to destroy.

"It's supposed to be _you_, you damn stupid – "

"Why do you think I helped him?!" Kyo figured his efforts were wasted and Haru was past reasoning with, but no way was he going to sit back and take abuse he hadn't earned.

"Don't play mind games! You were in on the attack – you wanted to look like a hero and impress Tohru-san!"

"I – wait, _what_?"

His distraction earned Kyo a right-hook to the jaw. A rampaging bull with martial arts training had zeroed all his focus on the cat, who was losing ground mostly because he didn't want to fight Haru right now.

But bringing _Tohru_ into it … the ox had crossed a line. Now the fight began in earnest.

* * *

"We need to interfere," Hana informed Uo abruptly, just as the blonde was about to sip her cappuccino. They were seated at an umbrella-d picnic table in front of an American-style coffee shop, although Hana hadn't actually gotten a drink.

"What's happened?" asked Uo, figuring it was just another of Hana's 'wave' powers acting up. Her friend abruptly stood and swept away. Uo sighed and followed, still carrying her cup. She'd paid good money for that coffee and she was damn well going to finish drinking it.

"Take that _back!"_ roared a familiar voice. "I had _nothing _to do with it!"

"Sounds like the Prince and Orange-Top are going at it again," Uo commented. "Is that what you were sensing?"

"It's not Yuki-san," Hana deadpanned. "Something's happened to him."

"How bad is it?"

" … Not deadly and he's not here. But it _is_ bad enough to severely distress his cousins."

"Even Orange-Top?" Uo smirked. "I knew he cared."

"DAMN IT, HARU!"

The girls finally got close enough to see … well, Uo wasn't entirely sure what they were seeing. It looked a bit like a martial arts movie sequence, a bit like a brawl, and a lot like two guys making idiots of themselves in public.

Kyo was … aggressively defending himself, against the Sohma with black and white hair whose name Uo couldn't remember, although based off what Kyo had just screamed, it was Haru.

_Okay, how would Tohru handle this if she were here? … Never mind, no time for sweet and innocent – not that Hana or I can really pull that off anyway._

Uo lunged between them and grabbed Haru around the shoulders, trying to hold him back. She was totally unprepared for him to turn into a cow.

Kyo and the Haru-cow looked shocked as well. Hana didn't, but then, when did she ever?

Uo let go and stumbled back. Kyo hastily looked around.

"I don't think anyone else saw that …"

"This is all your fault!" the Haru-cow screamed at him.

"My fault? You're the one who went crazy and attacked me in public!"

"What is going on?" Uo demanded.

Kyo, grumbling, gathered up a bundle of clothing, then snatched up the clothes that somehow fell to the ground instead of tearing apart when Haru transformed into the Haru-cow.

"I guess you may as well come with us," said the Haru-cow slowly.

"Yeah, Hatori should still be there if it's a problem," Kyo agreed. "We can explain on the way. Tohru will probably be glad to see you."

"How did he turn into a cow?" Uo cried in exasperation. The Sohmas began walking and Hana and Uo kept pace on either side. Kyo spoke first.

"How much do you two know about the Chinese Zodiac?"

"Just the old story," said Hana.

"Yeah, God had a banquet for all the animals and the rat tricked the cat into missing it."

Kyo ground his teeth at Uo's casual sum-up.

"Fourteen people in our family are possessed by the spirits of the twelve zodiac animals, '_God'_," sneering a little, "and the cat. As you've probably noticed by now, Haru is the ox. We change into our animal forms when we get weak or we're hugged by a non-possessed person of the opposite sex."

"Which animal are you?" asked Hana. Kyo jumped.

"Who said I was one?"

"You said 'we' rather than 'they' when you explained what causes transformations. Besides, you and your cousins all emit the same electric signals."

"Uh … "

"Kyo's the cat and Yuki's the rat," and by Haru's tone, he seemed to have calmed down. "That's why they don't get along."

"So, how long are you going to be stuck as a … cow?" wondered Uo.

"We change back after a while; the time varies."

"Grip him around the neck until we're in the woods," Kyo suggested. "We're naked once we're human again and I don't think the general public needs to see that."

Hana immediately hugged Haru's thick bovine neck. Uo smothered a smirk.

"So, Kyo, do you need a hug as well? Show us how you look as a cute little kitty?"

His glare said it all: 'Try it and I kill you. Slowly.'

"You'll see it soon enough," said Haru. "Tohru will probably throw herself into his arms as soon as she sees him."

"Does Tohru _know_?"

Kyo blushed. At any other time, Uo would've teased him relentlessly.

"Yeah. She found out the day we met."

"Aww, that's so sweet."

* * *

Tohru was in the kitchen trying to make lunch – she was still cooking for four, but it felt strange not having to remember Kyo's hatred of leeks or that Yuki liked his food with a hint of curry even when the recipe didn't call for spice.

There was a knock, and she answered it quickly. Outside was one of the _last_ collections of people she'd expect to see together. Uo, Hana, Haru, and …

Kyo!

She leapt at him and hugged him tightly, cuddling his adorably fluffy cat body and trying not to cry. In the background, she thought she could hear Hatsuharu saying, "Told you so."

**

* * *

Sorry this update was so delayed. I will _try_ not to do that again.**

I didn't originally plan for Tohru's gal-pals to be in this chapter, or in the story as major characters; then I decided they deserve some time in the spotlight too. _Someone_ had to save Kyo's life back there. And yes, I was planning for Uo and Hana to find out about the Sohma Curse … just. Not. Yet.

Also, I made up that bit about Yuki liking curry so he could have a food quirk too.

Published October 21, 2008


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